Lintzford
Chopwell Woods Sluice
Last Updated:
16 Aug 2024
Lintzford
This is a
Sluice
54.911360, -1.777269
Founded in
Current status is
Partly Preserved
Designer (if known):
Now preserved
What you see here is a sluice, and an old one at that originally erected in the early 1800s. Paper was a big industry round here, and clean water was required for the highest quality expected to pulp it all together. This sluice was the first attempt at "filtering" it.
The first photo shows the separate compartments where the water would enter the chamber from the Palis burn. From there, the muck would settle at the bottom and the water would seep over each wall which is slightly lower than the basin itself. It would continue this process a couple of times until being led to a reservoir shown on the 3rd pic.
From there, water would be stored in a reservoir (shown in the 3rd pic), then transported over to the paper mill at Lintzford originally established in the late 17th century. The sluice is constructed of stone, then partially rebuilt in Victoria Garesfield brick especially on the western end. The different generations are quite evident.
Funnily enough, the shaft you see below is said to be part of this sluice system but is marked on old maps as a coal shaft. It's certainly made of Victoria Garesfield brick, but I couldn't tell you if it served one or both of these purposes. The shaft is not recorded on the 1850s map, so I do have a feeling this was never a coal shaft as it is noted as 'old' by the 1890s.
Listing Description (if available)
Both maps shown illustrate Chopwell Woods and the sluice from the mid to late 19th century. The maps illustrate well how it trapped the water running down the Pallis Burn into the Derwent. The footpath leading to the sluice appears well built and artificially dug to make it as efficient as possible to reach Lintzford. It's far more overgrown nowadays, but once a vital channel to transport water from the reservoirs.
The 1921 Ordnance Survey shows the sluice and reservoirs as extant, though likely out of use by this point. Lintzford Paper Mill was still in operation however, but you can see the footpath to Lintzford was almost secondary by this point. The shaft is still noted as a coal shaft, which I continue to be sceptical of.
Photograph from the east side of the sluice in 2024. The sluice gate, channels and lower wall to allow water to pass can clearly be seen.
The shaft, identified on the maps for coal, shown here built by locally crafted Victoria Garesfield brick.
